imbatman said: there are a ton of variables.like how many hard inquiries do you have?When I last refinanced, I had one hard inq from a credit limit increase for 2 weeks before the credit pull for the refi. I had to explain it.If it were me, I would wait until the financing was done.

mattun said: I know there's probably no answer for this and it'll be at best a theory, but has anybody noticed any seasonal patterns to bonuses? Like an ideal month to do an AOR?

I have noticed it is random. There are some specific cards that repeat.like Chase BA seems to have a 100k offer in the summerso does the AMEX SPG card 30kOthers like the AMEX gold 75k offers pop up randomly.

Is there any issue with getting the Hilton Honors card from AMEX, and also getting the Citi Hilton Honors Signature card? They are both no-fee, and have the same benefits (including 40k Hilton bonus points each).

theospurs said: Is there any issue with getting the Hilton Honors card from AMEX, and also getting the Citi Hilton Honors Signature card? They are both no-fee, and have the same benefits (including 40k Hilton bonus points each).

There is no issue (I have them both). They don't have the same benefits though. The AMEX gives you access to AXON award redemptions (good value). The AMEX also gives you more points per dollar than the Citi card in every category except at Hilton properties (which is a tie). I never use my Citi Card.Also, I think there's a 50k bonus after 750 spend on the AMEX.

imbatman said: theospurs said: Is there any issue with getting the Hilton Honors card from AMEX, and also getting the Citi Hilton Honors Signature card? They are both no-fee, and have the same benefits (including 40k Hilton bonus points each).

There is no issue (I have them both). They don't have the same benefits though. The AMEX gives you access to AXON award redemptions (good value). The AMEX also gives you more points per dollar than the Citi card in every category except at Hilton properties (which is a tie). I never use my Citi Card.Also, I think there's a 50k bonus after 750 spend on the AMEX.

Note that the AMEX bonus categories are changing on May 1, but will still be better than the no annual fee citi card.

Thanks - you are correct, they are slightly different. The AMEX requires $750 spend in 3 months to get the 40k points, while the Citi needs $1000 spend in 4 months to get the 40k points. Each of these spend requirements are ok for me, and to be honest, I wouldn't use either of these cards except for staying at the Hilton when travelling.

I currently use the 5% Penfed card for gas, and am putting everything else on my US Airways Dividend Miles card to hit the bonus 10k miles transferring to qualifying miles at year end. I am trying to accumulate airline and hotel points to pay for a vacation later on this year, so the 80k Hilton points will come in handy.

imbatman said: theospurs said: Is there any issue with getting the Hilton Honors card from AMEX, and also getting the Citi Hilton Honors Signature card? They are both no-fee, and have the same benefits (including 40k Hilton bonus points each).

There is no issue (I have them both). They don't have the same benefits though. The AMEX gives you access to AXON award redemptions (good value).

".....Not yet announced, but this has to affect the valuable ‘AXON’ awards which offer 4 nights at a category 7 hotel for 145,000 points. Especially since category 7 is no longer the top redemption tier...."

It seems like it isn't a bummer if you stay off peak. They are cost managing the bonuses more effectively but instead of the point stretcher rewards of the past they are now included in the main program and include more Hotels.

Makes off peak times the best way to use rewards now. Obviously since they are seasonally adjusted if you stay during peak, you will have to spend a lot more points.

grex23 said: It seems like it isn't a bummer if you stay off peak. They are cost managing the bonuses more effectively but instead of the point stretcher rewards of the past they are now included in the main program and include more Hotels.

Makes off peak times the best way to use rewards now. Obviously since they are seasonally adjusted if you stay during peak, you will have to spend a lot more points.

I wish that was the case. Even though they claim to have "seasonal" awards, for the searches I've done it rarely works out like that.

So even though category 10 hotels are 70,000 to 95,000, they are often coming in at 95,000 regardless of the season/peak travel time.

In addition, even if they offer off-peak awards at 70,000, the 'old' rate was 50k points for night. So at a minimum, this requires me to use 40% more points for the same - a near 25% reduction in point value.. Worst case, it's 90% more points. That's upwards of a 50% reduction in the value of the points on-peak.

I have not found an instance where an old category 7 (50k points per night) remains as a category 7, and offers the off-peak reduction to 30k points- meaning they now cost 60k points.

There are other rewards offerings than Hotels. But I see your point that point valuations have been devalued for the most part. I have around 35000 points myself and won't be using them yet. They don't expire and I keep accumulating them.

All rewards programs work the same way however, they always devalue the points, whether its Hotels, Airlines and so on over time.

But hopefully I'll be able to find something to cash out my points with that is decent later on. I nor you can't do anything about the devaluation of the points but you can use your points earlier if you are willing to. For me I don't even have enough points yet over the long haul which are minimal to boot. So it really will not amount to much either way.

thefrozentin said: We had our child a week ago and am expecting a ton of medical bills from that. What CC would you folks recommend? I have gold delta sky miles and am not so Keen on any hotel rewards.If you only have the Gold delta cardor if you're going to be spending less than 25k.the SPG AMEX card is a better choice for you. Lower annual fee. 20,000 SPG points can be converted to 25,000 miles on many airlines (including delta), so your earning power would be better.

Or just go for a 2% credit card as the cash will often let you buy more domestic airline tickets than the miles will. (spend 20,000 get $400 or 25,000 miles).

imbatman said: thefrozentin said: We had our child a week ago and am expecting a ton of medical bills from that. What CC would you folks recommend? I have gold delta sky miles and am not so Keen on any hotel rewards.If you only have the Gold delta cardor if you're going to be spending less than 25k.the SPG AMEX card is a better choice for you. Lower annual fee. 20,000 SPG points can be converted to 25,000 miles on many airlines (including delta), so your earning power would be better.

Or just go for a 2% credit card as the cash will often let you buy more domestic airline tickets than the miles will. (spend 20,000 get $400 or 25,000 miles).

imbatman, thanks for the reply. I should have made a little more clear. I am also not too Keen on earning miles. I was more interested in points I can buy other stuff, Cash Back, etc.

my bcp renews this may the next "best" card i have is cap one venture ( 2 points for every dollar spent, can be redeemed for travel or GC) am i missing out on other 2% cards? why isn't the cap one getting much love??

i also plan to get a mortgage on or after Jan 2014, should i go on a 2-3 card app spree to try and get a "better" % card (the FIA or penfed 5% gas looks pretty good)

how long should i be a "good boy" before the mortgage app (i hear it's no new cards for at least 6 months prior to app)

my fico should be around 690-710. appreciate the advice.

edit:my main goal is1) get $$$2) don't mind WalMart gift cards since i can get groceries or gas at Sams3) would also like to start getting/collecting airline/hotel miles (gonna start getting card/s in wife name to build her credit: AAoA 5 yrs, CK 694)

Is Priceline/Barclays liberal with their credit limit? I have around $25k credit limit on Chase, AMEX-Costco and BOA(earlier FIA/Schwab 2%), but my limit on Capital one is only 7.5k and I am looking at dumping this one for an equal or higher Cash Back card like Priceline. The downside is that pricelines does charge 3% for foreign transactions.

mattun said: Priceline is your friend. There are others, but that's the easiest/fastest.

One nagging thing for me is eBay/Paypal shipping charges. I usually burn them with AMEX Gift cards (Big Crumbs + whatever rewards). I just tried using an eBay gift card bought from a grocery store and it didn't work. Are there any better options or should I stick with the AMEX GCs?

Was your NFL card also a Barclay's card? mattun said: I received similar numbers from Chase, AMEX, and Capital One. Barclays only gave me $10,000, however I had two other cards and they had no problem closing down my NFL card to get it up to $25,000.

upnorth85 said: Was your NFL card also a Barclay's card? mattun said: I received similar numbers from Chase, AMEX, and Capital One. Barclays only gave me $10,000, however I had two other cards and they had no problem closing down my NFL card to get it up to $25,000.

Yes, it would have been rather odd of them to close another issuer's NFL card.

lmnop100 said: If you have a Chase Freedom + checking account you get 10 points per purchase, which is worth at least 10 cents. If you are buying a shipping label for $3 that means you'll get over 4% back.

mattun said: lmnop100 said: If you have a Chase Freedom + checking account you get 10 points per purchase, which is worth at least 10 cents. If you are buying a shipping label for $3 that means you'll get over 4% back.

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